Maryland Cycling Classic canceled this year; organizers aim to return in 2027
· Yahoo Sports
The Maryland Cycling Classic has been canceled this year, but there is still hope the event will return in 2027, organizers said Thursday.
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The event was run by the Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, a nonprofit that dissolved last year. Officials said rebuilding the organizational structure left too little time to stage a race in 2026.
“For an event of this magnitude, it usually takes about 12 months to put together, and if you looked at the way we got international teams and athletes that come from around the world for this professional race, it was just prohibitive to try to schedule it this year,” said Steve Brunner, one of the event’s lead organizers. “It was a difficult decision, but the ability to cancel it and then look toward the future.”
The annual one-day road cycling race launched in 2022. This is not the first year the race has been postponed. The event was originally scheduled to debut in 2020 but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was canceled again in 2024 after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, severely disrupting traffic in the region.
But in 2025, the event was highly successful, Brunner said. The live broadcast reached 81 countries, and around 85,000 live spectators turned out to watch the cyclists, who hailed from across the globe. Organizers raised funds to host a Bike Jam music event the night before and donated bikes to Baltimore City schools. The feedback from athletes was overwhelmingly positive, Brunner said.
“[The cyclists] love coming to Maryland. They love the experience. They talked about everything from going out and having crab after to just the experience of Fells Point and racing on the cobblestones,” Brunner said.
Brunner and other organizers are working with state and local government, sponsors and various international cycling bodies and hope to bring the event back in 2027.
“We’re moving in a positive way for 2027. There’s still some work to do, but we’re early enough in the process that we’re on track,” Brunner said.
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